How much debt do Buena Vista University business graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $22,987, which ranks the lowest of 5 business bachelor's programs in Iowa. That works out to about $244 a month over 10 years.

Is a business degree from Buena Vista University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 47% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 54%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Iowa programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Buena Vista University Business (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Business/Commerce, General
Private nonprofit university
Storm Lake, IA
About 13 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Buena Vista University business graduates earn about what business graduates earn nationally, $48,810 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,987 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,625. Several Iowa programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$48,81063rd percentile of 206 programs nationally

Median federal debt$22,987The lowest of 5 Iowa programs

Debt-to-earnings47%Iowa median 52%, national 54%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Iowa and national columns are the medians across all business bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Buena Vista University	Iowa	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$48,810	$51,954	$46,707
Median federal debt at graduation	$22,987	$27,000	$25,625
Debt as share of first-year pay	47%	52%	54%
Programs compared		5	206

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa business program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Iowa medians.

Buena Vista UniversityOther Iowa programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $244 a month, or 6.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the parts of Iowa outside metro areas are about 16% below the national average, so a $48,810 salary here buys what about $58,054 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to business, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$87,690

Median pay in Iowa. 30,760 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $42,850Top 10%: $191,990

Project Management Specialists

$96,540

Median pay in Iowa. 6,720 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $62,000Top 10%: $150,290

Management Analysts

$85,530

Median pay in Iowa. 4,150 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 94,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $51,370Top 10%: $134,600

Sales Managers

$134,010

Median pay in Iowa. 3,260 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $72,130Top 10%: $220,770

About Buena Vista University

Tuition and fees	$41,798 / year
Average net price after aid	$18,846 / year
Admission rate	78%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	62%
Undergraduate students	1,366

Business ranks 4th of 13 bachelor's programs at Buena Vista University by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($53,280), Finance ($52,226), and Entrepreneurship ($49,099).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $48,810 one year after graduating. The median across business bachelor's programs in Iowa is $51,954.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Iowa comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the business program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Business bachelor's programs in Iowa, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Business bachelor's programs in the US, ranked206 programs by pay and debt All Buena Vista University programs, ranked13 programs by pay and debt